bicycles

We love hearing from our readers, especially if they’re passing through one of the cities where our blogging team is based (Louisville, San Francisco, and Istanbul). It was in the latter we met up with Canadian barista Gavyn Stroh, sharing a pour-over at Coffee Department in Balat. Istanbul is one of the world’s great travel hubs, so it’s not uncommon to meet visiting coffee professionals. But what made our visit with Gavyn exceptional was his mode of transportation. Turkey is one of 34 countries Gavyn cycled through over the last 12 months. We’ve been following his journey since that delicious, naturally-processed El Salvador we shared, and we’ve been taken by its breath-taking panoramas, ever-increasing tan lines, and of course, the many cups of coffee along the way. Now that his journey is coming to a close, we caught up with him to learn about coffee on the open road.

It’s iced coffee season. And even though cold brew is a breeze to make at home, there’s nothing quite like tapping into a keg. If only everyone was as lucky as residents of Columbus, Ohio, which is home to Mission Coffee Co.’s Cold Brew Bike. The popular Short North cafe recently launched their pedal-powered cold brew cart, which features two taps, wooden siding, and super classy old-timey lettering….

I don’t have any academic sociological studies to back this up, but I’ve noticed that people who ride bikes are more likely to enjoy craft coffee, or perhaps the converse is more accurate. Either way, the evidence is staggering: Intelligentsia made a cycling cap (which almost immediately sold out), the Coffee Collective made some limited edition demis for the Bike Film Festival, famed headset builder Chris King made a tamper, and, perhaps most convincingly, the bike rack in front of your favorite cafe is probably full — I know mine is.

But the relationship between cycling and coffee has reached a new level …